Negligent Discharge
In the backyard, wearing out some fenceposts that had seen better days. Had a failure to fire. Went to check out the cause of the malfunction and, satisfied all was working well, I gave the trigger a squeeze. Poor muzzle control and it discharged right into my left shin. The wound was a bit bloody, moderately bruised but mostly clean. Yup, shot myself with a pressure washer. The four rules: they work for other tools too.
May 22nd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Damn, I thought this was going to be a tale of bedmanship gone awry….
May 22nd, 2010 at 7:45 pm
For some stupid reason, while I was washing a fire truck with a pressure washer I decided I needed to rinse off my left hand. Now, knowing that there was a lot of pressure there, I carefully moved my hand up toward the spray and was simply going to lightly brush my hand along the spray nearly parallel to it. Fortunately I only injected a little bit of water into a couple of fingers. But it was enough to make me realize what a dumb ass I was!
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:12 pm
I knew a guy who shot himself in the knee with a nail gun. You bet they work for other tools…
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I shot myself in the foot with a nailgun while working a roofing job. Thats what you get for checking out the girls in the pool nextdoor & not paying attention.
Luckily, the nail went between my big & 2nd toe without drawing blood.
Of course, having to call a fellow worker over to help get the damn nail out of my boot so i wasn’t attached to the roof was grounds for laughter for many years.
May 22nd, 2010 at 9:34 pm
I just spent part of the day using a PW to clean concrete walls; considering what it did to paint, I’d rather not shoot myself with it.
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Having driven my dad to the ER after her nailed two of his fingers together with a nail gun in his shop out behind the house, I can tell you I pay extra special attention around anything with a trigger like saws and such, but never considered the pressure washer, thanks for the heads up.
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Check out Nashville Knucklehead’s pressure washer story:
http://nashvilleknucklehead.blogspot.com/2007/07/under-pressure.html.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:21 am
WORD Been-there-done-that, still have the scar
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:40 am
Hah, I did that with a pressure washer too! Right into my foot. But it was a contact shot, and as such the water went right under my skin and left a water bubble there.
May 23rd, 2010 at 6:18 am
A great many moons ago, and freshly out of four years of slide rule training, I was involved in field support for a line of commercial turf equipment, much of which was driven by hydraulics: gas engine drives pump, hoses convey hydraulic pressure to hydraulic motors at wheels and mower head, machine rolls and cuts. Pretty clever design. IIRC, system pressure at max power was in the 2500-3500 PSI range, about what a good pressure washer develops now. There was much insistence about not looking for hydraulic leaks with one’s hand, use something else instead. This was demonstrated by using an artificially created leak to cut pieces off a thin strip of pine. The impression created was if you do use your hand, hope for a clean amputation, otherwise the hydraulic fluid will be injected deep into tissue; if you don’t cut it off with the leak someone else will have to do that later.
I’ve been highly respectful of pressurized fluids ever since.
May 23rd, 2010 at 7:50 am
I sliced my big toe open with one of those. Never wear sandals while using a pressure washer.
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:40 am
Position Sul claims another victim.
However, at least you looked cool when you shot yourself. Remember, the key to Position Sul is sideburns and a Brazilian accent.
May 23rd, 2010 at 5:45 pm
OW!!! Long story short, I sheared a bulldick once. A Nike is NO MATCH for a 90# jackhammer. Used a feminine nap for a band-aid, (Hey, it was there and I mean…)Doc laughed his ass off.
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:06 pm
And in the kitchen, always cut away from your body.
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I got my foot with one of those last summer. Hurt like a bitch
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Ow, ow, OW!!! Hope you heal quick Unc…
May 24th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Unc, that’s ’cause you weren’t using a tactical pressure washer.
I mean, how can you weild a 3,000
fpspsi wand if it ain’t equipped with four rails and a bayonet lug?Oh, and a splash suppressor.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
May 24th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Jim – I bet Caleb’s pressure washer has rails.
May 24th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Did the little dutch boy thing and put my thumb over a ruptured PW hose. (Have no idea what I thought that would accomplish) learned really quick about that!
May 24th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Pressure washers and nail guns should indeed inspire proper “gun handling” protocol, but once you’ve shot yourself in the face with cans of a) spray paint, b) wasp poison, c) Windex and d) PAM cooking spray grease, you start handling everything mechanical, including cans of Diet Coke, as if it might kill you.
And I’m keeping my eyes on the loose sheets of sandpaper on my work bench, just in case they get any smart ideas.